In the software development world, conventional wisdom holds that when something new is not working as expected, the trouble can usually be traced to inadequate requirements gathering, faulty design or user error.  In the infamous “some assembly required” scenario, the customer actually gets involved in final “construction” and user acceptance testing.

While this approach may have some advantages, overeagerness to begin using the product at once may lead to rushing and avoidable mistakes.  Such mistakes are compounded when in a quest to impress, the assembler first announces and then tries to prove that he or she has no need of the product instructions.

When errors and omissions crop up as they frequently do in such situations, the newly humbled are not only embarrassed, but frustrated by the need to undo the damage occasioned by their own recklessness, entailing extra work and chewing up even more time and effort.  Meanwhile, those whom they sought to impress mock from the peanut gallery and chide the erstwhile boaster with snide versions of: “When all else fails, follow directions.”

It’s a painful experience and a common one [we have all been there from time to time].  Yet, curiously, some seem prone to repeating these mistakes, subjecting themselves to humiliation with surprising regularity.  Why don’t they learn from their suffering and take care to avoid it in the future by eliminating the source(s) of the problem?  It’s mystifying…and maddening.  Could it be that to these victims of self-inflicted wounds, the source of their difficulties is not obvious?  But how could that possibly be true?

For those among us who are not software engineers, God’s word provides insights.  Since He is the Creator, His answers are authoritative and true.  So, why don’t more people listen?  The Bible identifies several reasons, such as pride (Psalm 10:4; I John 2:15-17); stubbornness (Exodus 32:9; Psalm 78:8); “willing ignorance”—now there’s an interesting phrase—(II Peter 3:5); foolishness (Mark 7:21-23); ungodliness,unrighteousness, refusal to acknowledge, glorify and thank God (Romans 1:21-22); and  scoffing at Jesus Christ’s promised return (II Peter 3:3-4).

God knows the root cause of spiritual deafness and warns against it in starkest terms:

“…thou hatest instruction, and casteth my words behind thee.  These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself: but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes.  Now consider this, ye that [choose to] forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver.”  (Psalm 50:20-22)

Jesus began and ended some teachings by inviting “Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.” (Matthew 13:9, 43).  Are YOUR ears strictly ornamental, there just to keep your eyeglasses from falling off?   Or do you have ears that are alive, alert, attuned to God and fully operational?  Do you have ears to hear with?  Can you, will you, use them to follow God’s directions for your life, listening carefully to His instructions and obeying them?  Let’s test your hearing.

The Apostle Paul told the Athenians of ancient Greece that man-made gods are no gods at all and that the one true God does not live in temples built by man, saying in part:

“Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device.  And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him [Jesus Christ] from the dead.” (Acts 17:29-31)

Did you just “hear” God’s command, addressed to all people, everywhere, to repent?  [To repent is to stop going in the wrong direction (away from God), turn around completely and head in the right direction (toward God).]

Let’s repeat the test.  “Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.”  (Mark 1:14-15)

Did you “hear” Jesus preaching to you, that the kingdom of God is at hand and commanding you to repent and believe the gospel?  Do you know what the gospel is?  If the answer is ‘No’ don’t be ashamed.  It’s simply this:

“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.  For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures…” (I Corinthians 15:1-4, emphasis added) [PS: He is coming again to rule and reign.]

Have you repented of your sins and believed the gospel?  If not, you are completely unprepared for what is coming.  If you have repented and believed the gospel, you will be ready for anything.

“But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.  But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.”  (Romans 10:16-18)

“For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?” (I Peter 4:17)

“And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power.” (II Thessalonians 1:7-9)

One last danger to highlight: persistent disbelief and disobedience harden the heart.  No one should procrastinate, casting aside the users manual and trying things their way—no matter how this may seemingly have worked out for them in the past.  Repentance from sin and faith in Jesus Christ must be the first resort, not the last.

The Bible says that in the last days there will be those who prefer self-delusion and demonic deception to the truth of God’s word.  Do you have ears to hear?  Then please listen carefully:

“Even him [the Antichrist], whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.  And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” (II Thessalonians 2:9-12 emphasis added)

Did you hear it?  Habitual rejection of the truth leads to judgment.  A dead conscience can no longer respond to God’s gift of salvation through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, Who died to save us by laying down His own life to pay the penalty for our sin.  Not only will God Himself send a delusion upon those who reject the pardon—a frightening prospect indeed—it will be a “strong” (powerful) delusion.  Its purpose is to make the Christ-rejecting world susceptible to believing the lie that the Antichrist is the long-awaited Messiah.

My friend, you do not want to wait until all else fails to repent and turn to God.  You want to turn now, believe now, come now, BEFORE all else inevitably fails.  You do not want death or a powerful God-sent delusion to seal your fate.  Jesus Christ is calling those with ears to hear today.  Are you listening?  I pray that you are.  If you need help with next steps, read on.  Please don’t delay.  God loves you and longs to forgive you.  He yearns to secure your future with Him and grant you His Holy Spirit.  He is near you now and He is listening.

HOW TO BE SAVED:

• Admit to God that you are a sinner (that you have not kept His moral law to perfection; in your thoughts, words, and actions you have done what His law forbids and have failed to do what His love demands).  This is seeing yourself from God’s point of view and agreeing that He is right about you.  Be as specific as you can.
• Believe in your heart that Jesus died for your sins and that God raised Him from the dead.
• Sincerely repent (turn away) from your sins, asking God to forgive you and to use His power to help you resist temptation, no matter how strong the pull of sin may be, at first.
• Acknowledge Jesus as the Lord of your life.  Invite Him to move into your heart and take up residence there, so that He can transform you from the inside out.
• Trust His promise to save you and give you a new spiritual birth and a new nature (thoughts, desires, priorities, hopes, dreams, and character).

SOME KEY TRUTHS:

• “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”  (Romans 3:23)
• “As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one.”  (Romans 3:10)
• “But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.”  (Isaiah 59:2)
• “For the wages of sin is death: but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”  (Romans 6:23)
• “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  (John 3:16)
• “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”  (Romans 5:8)
• “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.”  (I Corinthians 15:3,4)
• “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.” (John 1:12)
• “Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him…”  (Revelation 3:20)
• “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”  (Romans 10:13)
• “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.  For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”  (Romans 10:9-10)
• “Verily, verily, I say unto you; He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life; and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”  (John 5:24)
• “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing, ye might have life through his name.”  (John 20:31) 
• “These things I have written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”  (I John 5:13)